What is Earned Value in Project Management?

What is earned value in project management? Earned value refers to a value assigned to work, which can be stated in hours and/or dollars.

Earned value management (EVM), on the other hand, is a tool used to measure and predict project performance by comparing planned versus actual earned value. Because EVM can be used to track cost and schedule, it is quite useful for forecasting future projects.

Earned value management provides stakeholders with additional insight into a project’s status since it compares actual time and money spent versus the planned hours and budget.

Historically, earned value and EVM were first developed and used in the 1960s by the US Department of Defense to track its various programs including NASA.